README file from
GithubVersion note: This README follows current
master, prepared for the next stable release. The released version in the community directory may not yet include the same interface or capabilities. Requires Obsidian 1.11.4+. To try these changes early, see building from source.
See PA in action
From a few old notes to something new. Pagelet brings back connections worth exploring while you read. Continue in Chat, shape your material into an article with Writing, create an illustration with CreateImage, then save your work or make a shareable card.
Earlier notes inform an article and illustration kept in Obsidian. Click any image to view it at full size.
25-second HD highlights — play below.
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/467d353a-c6aa-4e69-b6b7-303de2404562
Full 5:03 edit in 4K (120.6 MB). Waiting time was removed; proactive hint arrival was not captured.
Recorded on macOS with a PA 3.0.5 demo build from master and Obsidian 1.15.1. English interface, Chinese fictional example notes.
Want to try the story yourself? Copy the demo notes and prompts. You can also start with any of the capabilities below.
Let past notes help with today's thinking
Tell PA Agent what you want to do: compare reading notes, find different perspectives in a project, or turn scattered material into an outline. Chat helps you understand the content in front of you. Once Memory is prepared, earlier notes can inform the answer too, with returned source links taking you back to the originals.
Find my notes about putting reading into practice. Compare the experiences they describe, suggest an angle for this short article, and list the sources you used.
When you want to put the result into your vault, explicitly ask PA to create, append, edit, or update note properties. Say “show me a preview first” if you want to review a proposed change.
Compare practical experience, reading ideas, and an everyday analogy to develop a sourced writing angle.
Chat and note actions · Memory setup
Find connections worth following while you read
Pagelet starts from the note you are using and looks for connections supported by your material. With background discovery and proactive hints enabled, useful findings can surface while you read. You can also run Pagelet: Discover connections to look for them yourself.
Open an insight, read its sources, then select Discuss in Chat to explore it with PA. You review the prepared material and send the question. Discovery itself does not change your notes, and a new finding is not guaranteed every time.
Review an existing Pagelet insight, check its sources, and continue in Chat. Proactive hint arrival was not captured.
Turn ideas into something you can share
Type @ in Chat and choose a task to keep working with your material.
| Task | What you can do |
|---|---|
@Writing |
Turn reading notes into an article, review and revise drafts, then confirm saving one as a note. |
@CreateImage |
Generate an illustration, edit a selected image, and choose a note to save it to. Requires a supported image service. |
| Share Card | Make a card from Chat, Pagelet, or selected note text. You can also run Share Selection as Card from the command palette. Card layout itself does not require an image-generation model. |
The generated illustration, with controls to edit it or save it to a note. You choose the destination note when saving.
A Share Card exported from a 103-character article excerpt. The byline “虚构演示” means “fictional demo”.
Chat also lets you ask questions about images. Understanding images and generating them are separate capabilities, each requiring a model or connection that supports it. Images, writing, and saving your work
Capture thoughts and revisit what you have built
| What you want to do | PA tools |
|---|---|
| Capture a thought quickly | Quick Capture saves to a daily note, inbox, or current note. Basic capture needs no AI. |
| Browse your records in one place | Records Preview shows records from your configured folder and links back to the originals. |
| See how your writing and vault change | Statistics shows an overview, daily writing, growth, and composition. No AI required. |
| Make notes easier to read | Insert Callouts and view a local graph. Desktop graph popovers need Hover Editor; a standard graph view is also available. |
| Add a summary or featured image | AI summaries use a Chat service; AI featured images use a compatible image service. |
| Keep useful personal context | Personal Memory and style reference are available when their settings and consent conditions allow. Review or correct information, pause its use, or forget it in Memory settings. |
Publish on Ghost? The desktop @blog2ghost workflow can prepare article drafts and media with your configured Ghost credentials. First publication happens in Ghost; updating an existing article requires confirmation of the version you have checked. Ghost workflow
Get started
Before you connect: data and costs. Depending on the task, Chat sends your question and permitted note, image, or tool context to your chosen provider. Memory is enabled by default: after configuration, your first Chat may prepare eligible notes in the background. Later updates and Pagelet automatic discovery may also use AI credits. Before your first request, review Notes & privacy → Notes PA can use. These scope rules do not automatically identify sensitive content, and a local index does not mean all processing is local. To try Chat alone first, you can turn off Use memory from my notes and Pagelet background discovery.
- Install PA. In Obsidian, open Settings → Community plugins → Browse and search for Personal Assistant by edonyzpc. Open the plugin directory · View releases. Features being prepared for release require the matching build described in the version note above.
- Connect an AI service. Open PA settings → AI connection → Add default service, choose a service, enter its API Key, and save. Start with Chat; configure note retrieval or image generation when you want those capabilities.
- Open a note and start. Click PA's ribbon icon or run Open PA Agent. Select My notes, then ask the question below.
Which idea in this note is most worth developing? Suggest one small experiment I can try today and explain what in the note supports it. Discuss first; do not edit the note.
Need something to try? Use the fictional example notes. Check that the answer draws on the original, then decide whether to follow up, enable Memory, or explore Pagelet and creative tasks.
Setup and troubleshooting · Data, network, and dependencies
Frequently asked questions
PA is an open-source plugin. AI usage costs depend on your chosen provider and account. You can configure OpenAI, DashScope China/International, and compatible custom Chat services, with different connections for different tasks. Chat, tools, image understanding, note retrieval, and image generation each need appropriate model support.
Custom Chat uses an OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions interface. OpenAI image generation/editing accepts only the official https://api.openai.com/v1 endpoint; Wan uses its supported DashScope endpoints. Custom Chat/retrieval compatibility does not imply image-generation support. Connection setup
Your notes stay in your own Obsidian vault. AI tasks may send relevant, permitted content to the configured provider; preparing Memory may also send note text. Image tasks send the necessary descriptions and selected reference images. Retrieving generated images and remote images used in Share Cards also involves network requests.
When enabled and its consent conditions are met, AI Memory Extraction can learn personal context from your messages and use Chat credits. You can inspect, correct, or forget it in Memory settings; disabling extraction does not delete information already saved. Note scope, background discovery, and Memory have their own controls. Full disclosure · Memory controls
Discussion and Pagelet discovery do not themselves edit notes. An explicit create, append, edit, or property-update request can execute directly; ask for a preview if you want to check first. Writing saves, image saves, and the Ghost workflow have their own explicit actions and confirmation steps. Supported completed note changes can be undone; Undo stops if it would overwrite later edits. Action boundaries
PA supports desktop and mobile, with limits for individual capabilities. Ghost is desktop-only; graphs on mobile do not use desktop popovers. Historical Memory app validation covers desktop and iOS; Android Memory has not completed physical-device validation. Chat history stays on the current device and does not sync across devices with the vault. Image input, generation, and model compatibility depend on the service. Images and sync
Changing the retrieval model or dimensions may require preparation, but compatible existing configurations can be reused. Different retrieval configurations keep their own device-local indexes; inactive configurations receive no paid background maintenance. Switching alone does not mean uploading or rebuilding the whole vault. Memory setup
Voice is still planned, with no available workflow or promised date. Plugin/theme updates, plugin on/off commands, the old Memos entry, and metadata auto-update are retired. Historical demos retain their original context.
Help make PA better
Share what you wanted to do, where you got stuck, and what would help in Issues. Please do not post API keys or private notes. If PA is useful to you, consider starring the project.
Manual · More guides · Changelog · BRAT beta testing
Development and contributing
Start with the development guide and project documentation. The README plan, storyboard, capture checklist, and placeholder replacement instructions live in the media production guide.
With Node.js 22 LTS and npm 10 or 11, run the following in a checkout containing the changes you want to try:
npm ci
npm run build
Copy dist/main.js, dist/manifest.json, and dist/styles.css together into <vault>/<config-dir>/plugins/personal-assistant/, then reload or enable PA. The default config directory is .obsidian. For a manual stable installation, use all three files from the same release. An older source revision or release does not gain the new interface through these steps.
Created by edony. Thanks to the upstream projects and contributors. Client source uses AGPL-3.0-only from 2.8.0; historical releases retain their original terms. PA's name, icons, and market identity have separate trademark terms.
LICENSE · NOTICE · Third-party notices · Trademarks · Network and dependency disclosures